Articles from Our Pastor

On the threshold of the New Year 2017, I greet you and convey my warmest greeting. This is an opportune time to be thankful for the blessings of 2016 and to look forward to the possibilities of 2017. When I think about 2017, new beginnings, fresh starts, resolutions, and new promises come to mind. My prayer is that the new year be one filled with faith, hope, love, peace, and prosperity for all of us.For a while, I have been thinking about what I should write for this LINK’s message and the Holy Spirit directed me to certain comments I made in prior messages concerning personal evangelism, personal growth, and church growth. This, I believe is confirmation that we are on the right path to building up Christ’s church and strengthening our spiritual growth foundation. The following are revisited thoughts from prior messages: I trust that we are all energized and excited about our partnership and what the future holds for us. I believe that God has blessed this covenant relationship, and I rely on the power of God’s love and grace to make us truly the “body of Christ.” As the body of Christ, let us strive to become: 1) the hands to do Christ’s work; 2) the feet to run Christ’s errands; 3) the mouth to speak for Christ; and 4) an instrument of reconciliation to bring Christ to the world. With respect to evangelism, let’s plan to set apart some time on a daily basis to: 1) pray for unchurched people in our community; 2) pray for the unchurched members of our family; 3) pray that God will use us to befriend an unchurched co-worker and/or neighbor and lead that person to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; and 4) pray that new people/families will begin to attend our church and eventually trust Jesus as Lord of their lives. The world is full of pain and suffering, hardships and turmoil, disappointment and regrets, but God is moving among us and God is doing amazing things in our midst. Consequently, we should be excited about sharing the Good News that Jesus came to share humanity’s suffering; to heal humanity’s suffering, pain, and sickness; and to save us from the consequence of sin (Luke 17:11-13). I believe that 2017 will be a great year for exciting and vibrant ministries at WHBC through: worship, fellowship, Sunday School, personal evangelism, workshops on spiritual gifts, bio-psycho-social-spiritual workshops, youth ministry, etc. How blessed we are to be entrusted with the treasures of the Gospel-Good news! Thank God for the way He deals with us in our personal Christian journey! Yes, we have come a long way in our Christian journey and because God will not leave us nor forsake us, the future of our church is blessed. Let us rededicate ourselves to a future filled with great possibilities. As your pastor, I pledge to lead, stand with you, love you, support you, and encourage you to “sink your roots deeply in our church, and bloom in ministries where you are planted.” Remember God’s word of encouragement and hope: “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. I have plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11) Our future is also summed up by St. Paul, “But it is written, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor. 2:9). Rev. Dr. Peter E. Grinion